Empires of Land and Mind (1250-1350) - The Expansion of the Islamic World

5 important questions on Empires of Land and Mind (1250-1350) - The Expansion of the Islamic World

Who are the Mamluks? What did they do?

The Mamluks - warriors originally of slave states - quietly and decisively ousted Saladin's dynasty, the Ayyubids, and became rulers of the long-lived Mamluk sultanate, centered on Egypt.

What happened in the Maghreb?

In the Maghreb, various Islamic dynasties reigned in the wake of Almoravid collapse.

What is the Sahel? What happened there?


  • Further south, Islam reached across the Sahara to new states perched on the Sahel (the transition zone between desert and savannah).
  • One of them, the Empire of Mali, stretched 1200 - from the Atlantic Ocean to Timbuktu and beyond.
  • All of these regions were interconnected via seas and trade routes and crisscrossed by intrepid travelers. 
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Who are the Mamluks? What did they do?

  • The Mamluks halted the Mongols in their tracks as they attempted to capture the Syrian city of Ain Jalut in 1260.
  • Mamluks were trained warriors, fully armed and expert horsemen, but of unfree origins. Under the Ayyubids, they had been employed to help govern and serve in the army.
  • After they defeated the Mongols, they created a staunchly Sunni empire - the Mamluk Sultanate - that lasted until 1517.

Who benefited from the global economy?

To the west of the Mamluks, rulers in the Maghreb and the last Umayyads in Spain profited from the newly interconnected global economy, fueled in part by gold from the sub-Saharan Empire of Mali.

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